I can't stop thinking about Jon's reaction to hearing about Naomi Herne's complaint:
He reacts with absolute hostility, fully embodying the rudeness that Naomi Herne reported him for. And then he deflects in a way that outwardly puts the blame on Rosie, but which also implies that Naomi getting upset was the inevitable result of Jon dealing with her. Jon is bad with people. He's rude and unpleasant, and that makes people upset with him. He knows.
Except...none of that is true of the way Jon talks to Naomi Herne. He isn't rude to her in any way. He listens to her. He doesn't get angry with her even when she directly insults him. He says he doesn't believe her, but he still treats her gently, and he does try to help her.
From the beginning of her statement, Naomi is the one who is rude to Jon. She insults the tape recorders and the Institute, and she gets angry when Jon doesn't give her the answer she wants. The heart of her complaint has nothing to do with Jon's behavior, and more to do with the fact that she wanted to hear the words, "I believe you" and didn't.
It breaks my heart how Jon clearly doesn't realize that. He doesn't even try to defend himself against the complaint, he just immediately agrees that he was rude to her. Jon is so used to people not liking him that it never even occurs to him that their reasons might be completely unfair
I keep listening to it, and it really seems like Jon's is genuinely trying to be gentle and pleasant with Naomi. He knows what it's like to have a run-in with something supernatural. He knows, better than probably anyone else Naomi has spoken to, what it's like to recover from something like that.
Jon does lie to Naomi about believing her story. (He tells her that it was probably a reaction to the trauma she'd been going through, but then in the follow-up, he lists a lot of evidence confirming that it actually happened. Not to mention the fact that her statement won't record digitally.) I think a lot of people take that, along with him suggesting that Naomi see a mental health specialist as proof that he's simply being rude and dismissing her out of hand. But his tone is so much gentler than when he's picking apart the written statements, and honestly, everything about Naomi's statement points to her needing to get a good therapist.
Naomi gets angry at Jon because he won't say, without a hint of doubt, that he believes her. (Which he was never going to do because, like he says in 39, acknowledging that the Bad Things is something that scares him.)
She yells at him. Even though Jon really tried, he failed the interaction. Then Naomi files a complaint, and now Elias, who Jon still desperately wants to impress and prove himself to, also knows that Jon failed. So? Jon pretends that he didn't try. He talks about Naomi with all the hostility that would have justified a complaint.
At the end of the meeting with Elias, Jon assures him that he'll "be more lovely," and that more than anything else breaks my heart in this scene. Jon doesn't really sound like he means it, and how could he mean it? He was already trying to be "lovely" to Naomi, and it failed. What else is he supposed to do?
Beloved, why do you ship jonelias? Why do they consume your waking thoughts so?
I am glad you asked :D
So! I really enjoy uneven "problematic" power dynamics and this was what originally attracted me to jonelias. I listened to mag 92 and thought "jonelias seems like something I would ship" because even then I could tell they fit my taste. I also just like protagonist/antagonist ships, complicated relationships are my favourites
mag 92 is one of my favourite episodes as a jonelias shippers for a couple of reasons. at first it was solely the conversation between Jon and Elias and how it was about Jon getting changed by Elias, because of Elias. Jon was being openly vulnerable! "Am I still human, Elias?" he asks Elias who has just confessed to murder and keeping people hostage. Jon, who had so much respect and admiration for Elias' expertise, turns to him even in that moment. It is Elias who he seeks reassurance from, he asks another monster if he is one
Another aspect of mag 92 I am obsessed with is the opening statement and the way Elias puts Jon above everyone else (telling him to discard everyone in his pursuit) while also placing Jon on the same level as him
(Side note: I am still not sure if I prefer Jon to sit on Elias' lap/have Elias clean his wound or to focus more on what they don't do, on the gaping distance between them that they both wish wasn't there but both have their own reasons to not bridge it. Both are so good)
Vampire metaphor! Jon is a walking vampire metaphor and Elias is his maker, his creator. I am so obsessed with the idea of Jon feeding on Elias, pulling fear from his mind and Elias enjoying the intrusion and the freedom the compulsion brings. He said it felt tingly! Freak (affectionate). Also, telepathy and mind meld is so delicious
What I love most about jonelias is what I love in others ships: obsession and fully knowing each other. Beholding allows to take knowing and seeing your partner to another level, Jon and Elias can know and see each other in ways other people in their lives can't
Moral corruption is inherently fascinating to me and especially Jon. He gets worse throughout the series, his only anchors to humanity are his own guilt and the people around him who more often than not just reinforce that guilt (this makes sense in the context of the story but you can't guilt yourself into being a better person and that's why it doesn't really work for Jon but I digressed). I like thinking about all the ways Jon could be worse, the ways Jonah could push Jon into following his worst impulses, into choosing to be a monster instead of drowning in guilt to not feel helpless and powerless
I love jonelias when it's about all the things they wish to do but don't because they have other priorities, because they know but don't understand each other just like their patron. I love jonelias when it's Jon giving in, letting go. Of his morals, of his guilt, letting Elias shape him into something new. I love the idea of Jonah Magnus who worships no god, not even the one he serves, adoring and worshipping Jon and especially the parts of Jon that he himself had shaped. The Pygmalion and Galatea of it
Jonah chose Jon! He saw him and knew he was right! Jonah wants the Archivist and he wants the Archivist to be Jon. Sure, Jon was marked by the Web first but Jonah picked him too and I love it. It's fascinating from both of theirs perspective, Jonah feeling proud he made the right choice and Jon having a complicated mix of feelings about it. He hates that he was chosen and he just a little happy that he was chosen and he hates himself for it
Another thing I really like is the way they say each other's name! Elias calls Jon by his name a lot and I hate when people act like he doesn't
Jon and Jonah are very similar and I find that fascinating too. They are both workaholics and nerds and losers and freaks!! And I love them for that. And and and I really do think they could have eventually been truly equal if not for Jonahs prioritising his evil plan
still not over the idea that Martin really joined the archives, fell for the cute librarian guy that hated him and then proceeded to make sure to be as catty as possible to any of his possible paramours, Martin Blackwood the Disaster You Are (affectionate)
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